


start talking, stop whistling

by merlinemrys



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, M/M, kind of but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-03
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-22 08:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/910934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlinemrys/pseuds/merlinemrys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Pavel stays in Hikaru's quarters and Hikaru is really bad at picking up on social cues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	start talking, stop whistling

**Author's Note:**

> this is basically in dedication to the [anton yelchin booty](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emWtjH0Tftc) hahaha. inspired by a conversation with ariel, beta'd by ariel and beth, title from the song "birds" by chef'special.

"This is so stupid," Pavel moaned, falling dramatically onto the foot of Hikaru's bed with an oomph. Hikaru raised his gaze from his PADD for a brief second, quirking an eyebrow and a grin at Pavel before nudging his curly hair with his toe.

"Glad to see you enjoy my company so much, you ungrateful brat," he said drily, turning back to reading Jules Verne. Pavel lazily batted away the offending foot and rolled over onto his stomach, cheek pressed against Hikaru's shin. Hikaru tried to slow his embarrassingly rapid heartbeat, reminding himself that his navigator was just--being friendly. And expressing his friendship through pseudo-cuddles. Or something.

"Not you, Hikaru," Pavel said, and Hikaru had to duck his head and grin at the way he stretched out all the syllables in his name. Pavel flicked his wrist, vaguely gesturing in the air. "Just--this entire situation! What, an evil honey-smelling cloud gets in through the vents and knocks out a red shirt, and suddenly half the ship is closed for ventilation updates? Pfft! Ridiculous."

Pavel rested his chin on Hikaru's knee and huffed. Hikaru willed his blush to just go away, good god, as he reread the same sentence for the twentieth time and staunchly ignored Pavel's intense stare.

"You'll live," he said mildly.

"Oh yes, I'll live," Pavel grumbled in reply as he squished his face into Hikaru's thigh, "but I won't like it."

There were a few blessed moments of silence during which Hikaru thought, if only briefly, that the vaguely-defined god of lame fencing space botanists had actually deigned to take pity on him.

"What are you reading, anyway?" Pavel asked, shattering Hikaru's hopes as he wriggled up the bed and hooked his chin around the crook of Hikaru's elbow. He swallowed. "Is it really more important than listening to me complain?" Pavel continued, shooting Hikaru a dangerously slow smirk.

"Uh," Hikaru said, mind blanking. "It's, uh, um. Collection of Jules Verne. Voyages Extraordinare. He was a nineteenth century, like, sci-fi adventure writer from France...Verne, I mean. Not. Not Extraordinare. That's. The title of the book. I mean collection. Not a person. Uh. Yeah."

Hikaru chuckled a little nervously. It came out only slightly hysterical as Pavel sidled up and rested his full body weight along Hikaru's side.

"I thought you were reading that old Chinese story? With the funny monkey. Journey to the East?"

"To the West," Hikaru corrected, watching the rise and fall of Pavel's chest. "Finished it last week for like the fiftieth time."

"You like adventure, da?" Pavel murmured, half-lidded eyes steadily dropping.

"Yeah," Hikaru said, resisting the urge to card his hand through Pavel's hair. "I'd be a pirate if I was alive back then, you know?"

Pavel mumbled something sleepily in reply before snuggling in closer to Hikaru and nodding off to sleep. Hikaru smiled helplessly at the slumped figure before trying to focus back on his story, but he kept getting distracted by Pavel's little puffs of breath on his wrist.

Eventually, he just gave up and set the PADD down with a glare upwards, cursing the god of lame fencing space botanists. He slowly extracted his arm from Pavel's grasp--not an easy feat--and tucked the blanket snugly around him, feeling only slightly foolish.

"Lights, seven percent," he said quietly. He stripped out of his uniform and into a pair of old sweats before sliding into Pavel's temporary cot. Hikaru watched Pavel shuffle around in his bed, and silently wondered if he'd ever work up the nerve to make a move.

Probably not, he decided, and fell asleep to thoughts of Pavel's stupid cuddly limbs finding someone else.

//

Hikaru woke up in the middle of the night and blinked blearily into the semi-darkness. He checked the wall clock--0412--and sighed a little before turning on his side, resigning himself to a few sleepless hours before alpha shift.

He froze.

In hindsight, it probably meant something (he didn’t really know what, but something) that his eyes were first caught on the slope of Pavel’s neck, the bumps of his spine leading down the arch of his back; freckles dotted his pale skin, only semi-visible in the dim light of his room.

And Hikaru wanted to look away, he did, he really did. It was his duty as Pavel’s friend to allow him privacy, to respect his dignity by not watching him change, for god’s sake.

But.

His gaze fell on Pavel’s ass, his entire thought process kind of just slammed to a halt, and that was the end of that. His breath caught in his throat as he stared unabashedly at Pavel’s butt, at the curve of those firm globes as Pavel bent over and shimmied--actually shimmied, with little twists of his hips--on a pair of tight black briefs that did nothing to hide his ass from Hikaru’s guilty stare.

Pavel paused. Hikaru could see his neck twist just a little bit, face still hidden in the shadows of the room. He clamped his eyes shut, heart pounding in his ears as he willed his breathing back under control.

He heard an amused little scoff from where Pavel was standing, and quiet footsteps padding towards him.

There was a hand against his bare chest, now, and a breath ghosting against his ear.

“Enjoying the view, hmm?”

Hikaru slowly opened his eyes to the sight of Pavel smirking at him, face only centimeters away from his own.

“I--” he stuttered, scrambling for an excuse that didn’t make him sound like a lecherous old man. “I’m sorry--I was just--”

He was interrupted with a little eep of surprise as Pavel pressed his lips against his own.

It took him a few seconds for his brain to process and respond, but he suddenly found himself gripping Pavel by the shoulders and pushing them back to his actual bed. They tumbled onto the rumpled sheets (and god if that wasn’t the most cliched thing Hikaru had ever done) and finally drew apart, Pavel towering above Hikaru and caging him in with his arms and legs.

“You are really stupid, Hikaru,” Pavel grinned, pressing his forehead to his. Hikaru tried to scowl but the effect was, he suspected, ruined by the peck he landed on Pavel’s nose.

“I thought you were just--really cuddly,” he said feebly. Pavel snorted.

“Yes. Totally. A hardcore Russian like me doesn’t cuddle just anyone, you know.”

“Uh, Pavel, no offense, but you don’t exactly--”

“Shut up, Hikaru.”

He was more than happy to oblige.


End file.
